Are you excited about the lockdown measures being lifted but also nervous about all of the drinking? Have you enjoyed not being hungover so much and wondering how to still go out but avoid the pressure of people thinking you’re being boring? I get it, you still want to go out and see your friends but you don’t want to sacrifice your well-being in the service of being sociable.
The struggle is real.
It’s something I have worked on a lot myself having been a massive party girl who was always the last one at the party. But once you get on the path of wanting to make a better quality of life for yourself, you are going to have that nagging feeling that having hangovers isn’t helping you, it’s hurting you.
The problem is … to not drink you feel like you’re going to have to hide yourself away and you really don’t want to be a hermit. So how on earth can you trust yourself to go out and just have one drink when you know your mates will be wanting you to drink with them? Here are my personal tips to help get you started on having less hangovers so that you can create the quality of life you want for yourself.
1. Do a visualisation before you go out (instead of having a drink)
I would always have a drink before I went out, which meant I was probably a bit tipsy on arrival. How can you trust yourself to not drink more when you are already tipsy?! Instead of a drink before you go out, take ten minutes to visualise yourself the following morning feeling amazing. See yourself getting out of bed and doing what you want to do.
Is it going to that spin class to get that body you want? Is it starting that business idea? Or is it simply feeling your best self to enjoy the day? Really focus on what you’re saying ‘yes’ to by saying ‘no’ to drinking, and no more hangovers.
2. Still go straight to the bar but instead order an apple juice and sparkling water in a wine glass
Just holding the wine glass will help you to feel confident – a bit like a crutch. You might also find that people are less likely to ask you why you’re not drinking as well. I would do this a lot and now it’s one of my favourite drinks.
3. If you are going to have a drink but you don’t want to get drunk, then make a rule that you never, ever drink without having eaten or when you have food
When I would go for dinner, I could have had a couple of glasses of wine before the food had arrived, which was not helpful. I found that if I made myself wait until my food was there, I drank more slowly and was less likely to be drunk. Ultimately, you need to be clear on why you are saying no – a no now is a yes to something you want more in the future.
And that might be that you want to be free of anxiety – errrr yeah, not drinking helps with anxiety. The reason I was saying no, and this was ten years ago, was because I wanted to have a successful business. I wanted to love myself, to reclaim my Sunday mornings, to lose weight and love my body. I wanted to feel great all week long and not have a hump day.
Too many of us use it because we feel anxious but I promise you it is not truly helping it’s only masking
Yes, you will feel a bit anxious without alcohol when you go out, probably because it’s been there for you for so long, but it won’t be forever. I started off not drinking for a few weeks, then I would do a month, then I did six months and recently I did over a year. I am completely free of booze having any control over me now. No more hangovers. So I really enjoy having the odd drink here or there. I didn’t enjoy it when I couldn’t trust myself to just have one.
Transforming my relationship with alcohol has been game-changing for me and if this does relate to you then, I have every faith in you being able to do this same. I’d love to hear from you, tell me about your experience with alcohol and if this has brought anything up for you, please comment below. If this is something that makes you feel anxious and a bit ‘stuck’, then I invite you to join our Happiness Reset programme starting Friday, 18th June – MORE INFO HERE
